I'd been sedan shopping for like 6 months and drove alot of cars including S8, S4, 535ix, M35x, GS350awd, and was hoping to end up in an AWD car. Mostly b/c I like the looks and was bored I took a Charger SRT-8 out for a spin last Wed. It impressed me so much i gave up my AWD idea and now have a black RWD monster. I was expecting the engine to be awesome but the suspension/steering/road feel was way better than I expected. B/C I don't drive this car at 10/10ths and mostly use it as a DD sometimes toting 2 kids and the wife, it strikes a great balance for sporty/useful. I'm hoping this foray into American cars, with the last being 1995, isn't one of visual love but quality dissapointment. I'll cut it some slack b/c it's a Dodge and hope I get pleasantly surprised on that front. The car has a built in 0-60 timer and they must be lying about the HP/TQ b/c it weighs a heavy 4300 lbs and few different guys have run 4.4-4.8 verified by outside sources. Chack one out if you are in the market and I guarantee you'll be surprised too.

 

Good luck with the new ride. Do you prefer it over the 545?

 

i have owned every srt product except the neon....the charger was a nice ride, quick and well mannered. my only complaint was the plastic feel of the interior...tint the windows, tint the tails, take off the spears on the doors and you got one sexy car

 

Congrats!! The SRT line is truly a surprise, but I definitely agree, the plastics in the interior belong on a trash can, not the interior of a $40k automobile.

 

I am in the same boat as you...I have owned an E55 and Jag. XJR. Tried the Charger on a whim. The car does have its short-comings (plastic!!), but it is fun as all hell.

Put the Zoomers cat-back exhaust on and you will really love the car.

 

can u get the plastic parts wrapped in leather from a good shop or anything like that. i also admire the chargers srt-8s. they are so mean looking and sounds so good.

 

Welcome to the SRT world, Good luck Enjoy.

 

Ive got to give it to the Big Three the SRT cars are AWESOME

 

The 545 drives like a "smaller" car but it isn't a whole lot smaller. You can't compare the HP/TQ of the 2 and one of my beefs with BMWs has been escalating HP without TQ following along. The Charger is more supple in ride even with 20s vs. 18s. Steering is pretty crisp on the Charger and the BMW has the active steering, which I mostly like, but occassionally it messes with you. I wish the Charger had built in parking sensors F & R. As for the plastic issue, I don't give two *****. I'm in the car to drive, which primarily involves holding the wheel, using my feet (foot in this case) and looking out the window. I really don't have time to stare around or touch things other than the occassional radio button or HVAC control. I would never expect a Dodge and a 40+K car to compete with BMW, M-B or Audi on the "luxury" front. I'm real glad they spent the money where they did b/c otherwise the car probably wouldn't be for me.

 

Great bang for the buck.....nice OEM wheels too.

 

I revived my thread from a few years ago b/c I actually bought a second Charger after turning back in the leased one. So far I've done the Mopar exhaust that I really like, tinted the windows and put on black gloss rims. Santa brought me the Predator for Christmas, which I'll team with a cold-air intake and see how that goes. The 2009 feels "stronger" than the 2007 but probably due to the transmission more than anything.

 

Nice man, looks mean in black!

 

One of the meanest looking cars on the road.

 

And the new ones come out next year. I hope they don't ruin it. If they improve the interior a lot, I might pick one up as my new daily driver. But as much as I like them I have had horrible luck with the Chryslers I have owned in the past.

 

I figured they would probably ruin it, which is why I got another. 50% of it is that "mean" look but the rest is how it performs overall. It suits my taste almost perfectly. The interior is mostly crap but it has all the necessary stuff like HID, Nav, Bluetooth, etc. and I prefer it over my friend's new CTS-V that I drove. Lots to like on the CTS-V, but for 30-grand more and looking a lot like the other million CTS's bopping around, I'll take the Charger. There's some talk on the forums that the next LX platform & SRT versions might still have great performance, but that remains to be seen. Also, the esthetic change may or may not be any good. Time will tell ...